


Mirrors

by supernaturallylost



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Implied Eventual Castiel/Dean Winchester - Freeform, Reading, Short, dean gets really into what he's reading
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 13:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3897490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernaturallylost/pseuds/supernaturallylost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trusting in Sam's recommendation, Dean decides to read an old book called 'Mirrors'. Afterward, he finds himself mentally exhausted, so he confronts Sam. Sam, however, swears they couldn't have read the same book.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mirrors

Dean had no idea why Sam suggested he read that book. That damn book with the purple leather cover and the gold edges – the one with the crinkled pages that smell like smoke, coffee, and dust. Sam had seemed so sure, so adamant, that Dean couldn’t help but begrudgingly agree to give the book a try. Now, here he was, alone in his room, bawling his eyes out as the protagonist was forced into a choice too difficult to fathom.

“Damn you, Sammy,” Dean blubbered under his breath, wiping his tears before they could fall onto the book.

Dean locked his door, sat on the ground beside his bed, and leaned back against the bedframe with the book held to his nose eagerly.

 

Days passed. Hour after hour, Dean invested himself even deeper into the book. His eyes couldn’t read fast enough, and his fingers couldn’t flip the pages soon enough. Still, he remained diligently stooped over the old publication.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean cursed loudly at one point.

The protagonist had made the wrong decision, perhaps knowing that it was the wrong decision.

“No!” Dean whispered softly.

The antagonist had become the protagonist’s best friend.

“Please, please, please,” Dean chanted hopefully.

The protagonist had finally recognized his feelings for the main love interest.

 

Eventually, Dean plodded hazily out of his bedroom, the book tucked in a loose grip. Aimlessly, he propelled himself forward. He stumbled as he stepped onward. Finally, he found himself standing feet away from Sam, who turned to see Dean’s red eyes.

“How’d you like it?”

Dean opened his mouth and spoke in a hoarse whisper.

“Why would you do that to me?”

Sam tilted his head.

“You know I don’t like romances!” Dean croaked quietly. “And yet here you had me read a tragic love story?”

Sam laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Sam laughed. “I guess I didn’t think you’d get so invested in a book about a man and his three pets. It was a fun story. Remember when they raised enough money to help the little girl live her dream, even though they had to give up their hope of a traveling show?”

Dean stared awkwardly.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he finally said.

“Mirrors,” Sam pointed. “That book in your hand – it’s about a happy man who does his best, and he might not get what he thinks he wants, but what he really wants is to help other people, which is exactly what he does throughout his life. He doesn’t realize it at first, of course, but eventually, he knows that his life had been fulfilling in a way he never even considered.”

Dean stepped back and arched an eyebrow.

“What the hell? Did you even read this book?”

“Well what did you think it was about?” Sam smiled with confusion, crossing his arms in front of himself.

“This man,” Dean said, gesturing to the book in his hand, “goes through hell and back trying to defeat his own demons. The main demon is pride, and he spends almost a lifetime battling it before he becomes friends with his flaws, and they reach an understanding, and only when he accepts himself as a whole, and has dealt with his imperfections, does he finally stand a chance with his one true love. The book ends not knowing if his love is returned.”

Sam shook his head and grabbed the book from Dean’s hand. He opened to the first page and read the first line:

“There once lived a man. The man lived with three dogs, two that were obedient and calm, and one that was mischievous and defiant.”

Dean took the book back and read the first line he saw:

“A man sat staring at the bottle in his hand. The label read that the answer to life was written on the bottom. Slowly, the man began to drink.”

The brothers looked at each other before the book was placed on the center of the table, soon to be covered by dozens of papers, journals, and books researching why the book read differently for the two of them.

 

In a few hours, the two of them finally managed to find their answer.

“Books are mirrors,” they read. “You find in them only what you already have inside of yourself.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is really short and is meant to be sort of outline-ish as opposed to a "real" fic. Just wanted to get some creative juices flowing. Hope it intrigued you! Leave comments if you have any!


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